Well, the cock fight was rather disappointing, since the opposing rooster got slashed once and then ran… like a chicken! Anyways, they considered that to be a forfeit, so Kuya Minoy’s rooster won, and we get to cook the loser. I guess this is just another instance where it is good to be the king. But it’s just like going to a wrestling match, the two opponents get into the ring, shake hands [or wings] and fight. The preparation for the match is more involved, with Minoy wrapping his leg with tape to support the weight of the blade, then wiring the blade onto the back, just below his spur. Mike holds the rooster and calms it while they do the wrapping and then brings him to the ring. Overall, I’m sure it would have been more exciting had the other rooster not run away and cut the fight short. Apparently, it’s not quite that legal where we were holding it.
In the morning we headed out early to go get a bike with a sidecar for Laurel, but the price wasn’t that great and they weren’t willing to bargain, so we left after taking a picture and deciding to try and make one when we get back home in the states. Afterwards, we decided to go out to Barangay Barretto [or as dad calls it, Barrio Barretto] and walk around. It was really nice there. I much preferred walking around Barretto as opposed to walking through downtown Olongapo. We found a few Americans walking around, stopped and chit chatted then continued on down the National Highway. We ended up in a nice little sidebar called Mango’s, a place dad had visited online while checking out some background info on the Philippines. It was quiet, and the people were friendly, with a menu catered to both Americans and Filipinos. I managed to sneak in a strawberry daiquiri and toss in some Red Bull while the boys tried out a veer called Beer Na Beer… which means like purely beer or something. Went down to the beach as far as we could and took some pics of the banca boats and the shoreline. Afterwards, we stopped out at a dive shop, but the guy who knows about that stuff wasn’t there… so we just left and headed back home. There was a wood carving out front of the bar, and like a bunch of dorks, we all stuck our heads in his hands. My mom and I had the hardest time getting our faces clear of the hands, because we have those high cheekbones, but it was all good, we managed to twist and squirm our way clear.
